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Leading Fiji newspaper for Fiji News, Sport and Pacific newsThu, 22 Feb 2018 02:53:41 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.3.15Singh aspires to improve community’s living conditionshttp://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/22/singh-aspires-to-improve-communitys-living-conditions/
http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/22/singh-aspires-to-improve-communitys-living-conditions/#commentsThu, 22 Feb 2018 02:47:29 +0000http://fijisun.com.fj/?p=409610Coming from a small com­munity and being deprived of the basic necessities for years, Sheena Kiran Singh hopes to bring justice to her community by fighting for access to proper wa­ter supply and roads.

The 24 year-old from Vitogo in Lautoka was surrounded by her family members yesterday as she was admitted to the bar as a lawyer.

She says the sole reason she de­cided to study law was to put her in a position where she could help de­velop the standard of living in her community.

“At times when people do not know the law they feel like there is no help available to them and I chose to study law because I felt like I could be in a position where I could help members of my commu­nity,” Ms Singh said.

“When I was in high school I had to walk for miles to get to school and there were instances when I had to go into the bucket of a dig­ger to cross the bridge.”

She said the poor conditions in her community would sometimes lower her self-esteem when she would compare how easy her class­mates lived and commuted.

“Now that I am a lawyer I can go back and relate to people in my community that they are not sup­posed to be living like that and we can have a better standard of living through personal efforts and the government,” she said.

She also highlighted that a tempo­rary bridge had been constructed in their community however it would wash away every time the area flooded.

“Every second day they come and repair the bridge so it is a recur­ring hazard that has been happen­ing over and over again. We have tried to go to the proper authorities but it seems like help has not been given to us.”

She said her first project is to en­sure they get access to basic neces­sities.

Ms Singh thanked her uncle in Brisbane, Australia for his finan­cial support towards her education and her pineapple farming parents who never stopped believing in her.

Her mother Usha Kiran Singh said it was always her dream for her daughter to become a lawyer because she admired former Fijian judge Nazhat Shameem.

She said she was proud of her daughter for her achievement as the first lawyer in the family.

]]>http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/22/singh-aspires-to-improve-communitys-living-conditions/feed/0Don’t Let Age Drag You Down: Butadrokahttp://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/22/dont-let-age-drag-you-down-butadroka/
http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/22/dont-let-age-drag-you-down-butadroka/#commentsThu, 22 Feb 2018 02:44:42 +0000http://fijisun.com.fj/?p=409607There is no limitation to education. Here I am at the age of 49 going on to 50, now a fully fledged lawyer.

These were the words of former Accountant Joji Butadroka who realised his dream of becoming a lawyer when he was admitted to the bar at the High Court in Suva along with 19 fellow graduates yesterday.

Mr Butadroka worked as a full-time accountant for 24 years before he decided to quit his job in 2011 to pursue law at the University of the South Pacific (USP).

He said: “People in their early and late 20s and 30s should not hesitate to go back to school. Do not limit your potential. Find where your calling is and pursue it.”

“Due to personal and financial reasons I could not attend law school and the only option available to me then was to enter the workforce and since I had an interest in Accounting I pursued that field of work.”

He said his passion for law never escaped his mind.

“I tried taking up a few law courses while I was working but then I found it difficult to juggle assignments and I found that I could not compromise my work, so I left work to pursue full-time studies.”

Mr Butadroka said not earning an income was a challenge for him as he had to manage with whatever little funding he had.

“As a person in my late 40s studying with students who were the same age as my daughter had its bad and good side in that I was able to relate to them in terms of their difficulties, and I was like a father figure to them, and they would share their problems with me,” he said.

Mr Butadroka went on to study in Vanuatu for a period of two years which he says was an enjoyable, learning experience for him.

“In a way studying with young people in Vanuatu sort of mitigated the fact that I was away from my wife and three children.”

The security of a nation’s maritime domain relies heavily on the availability of accurate maritime geospatial information.

The Minister for Defence and National Security, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola made this statement yesterday while addressing the 15th South West Pacific Hydrographic Commission at the Tokatoka Resort in Nadi.

The two-day conference was attended by respective national hydrographic officials from within the associate member states of the commission, which includes New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, France and Papua New Guinea.

Natural phenomenon, he added, including climate change and natural disasters, have a continuing profound impact on maritime nations like Fiji and other small island states.

“The responsiblity of ensuring safe economical routes, sea lanes of communication and the management of its economic exclusive zone lies solely in the hands of the coastal states,” Ratu Inoke said.

Fiji, he said, as a small island developing state was highly reliant on its maritime related industries, especially on its blue economic activities, which contributed to two-thirds of its annual revenue.

“The country is also the destination to many pleasure craft including cruise liners and super yachts due to reliable port facilities and services,” Ratu Inoke said.

With the country’s geographical location as the hub of the Pacific, he added that there was a need to have well surveyed harbours, which was also paramount to ensure the safe navigation of vessels in waters within our jurisdiction.

Ratu Inoke also acknowledged the efforts and work done by the South West Pacific Hydrographic Commission over the last 25 years.

He said there had been significant achievements with regard to the development and implementation of international chart schemes and electronic navigational chart coverage.

]]>http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/22/ratu-inoke-highlights-maritime-needs-and-vulnerabilities/feed/0Musician Turns To Law As A Careerhttp://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/22/musician-turns-to-law-as-a-career/
http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/22/musician-turns-to-law-as-a-career/#commentsWed, 21 Feb 2018 23:00:36 +0000http://fijisun.com.fj/?p=409499Poor eyesight fails to stop her from becoming a lawyer

She won the hearts of many with her voice when she participated in the 2011 Make it Count (MIC) show.

Yesterday, 27-year-old Laisa Ledua Bulatale became a fully-fledged lawyer when she was admitted to the bar before Chief Justice Anthony Gates.

A passionate musician, Ms Bulatale, spent two years after high school pursuing a career in music at the Fiji National University (FNU). However, when that did not eventuate she turned to Plan B – law.

At the time, FNU did not have a degree programme for music so two years down the line her parents said, “Well I think you need to switch to something more academic,” and so she chose law.

“I took part in the MIC show and I did a lot of gigs, singing in hotels and even Down Under nightclub,” Ms Bulatale said.

“My parents have always told me that I was destined to do law because my initials are LLB so from a young age I have always had that at the back of my mind.”

She acknowledged her parents’ unwavering support in her studies as they singlehandedly paid for her law degree with income her dad earned as an accountant with the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) and mum’s teaching job in the Marshall Islands.

“My parents were very supportive and I was a private student all throughout but for my six months Professional Diploma in Legal Practice (PDLP) course I was sponsored by Tertiary Education and Loans Scheme (TELS),” she said.

“They have always instilled the belief that I can be anything that I want to be through hard work and to never use my disability as an excuse.”

A significant barrier she faced while studying was her poor eyesight developed as a result of her condition as a person living with albinism.

“My vision has not always been 100 per cent and I need the fonts to be enlarged so I am very grateful to the school of law and the university because they have a disability resource centre that provided support for students with disabilities who were accessing tertiary education. That made my work a lot easier.”

When asked if socialising with peers was an issue for her while studying, she revealed that she had always been in the mainstream education system from a young age which made it easier for her to adapt.

Ms Bulatale, who has an interest in advocating for human rights, gender, disability and governance, encouraged people to always have a backup plan and not to let disabilities get in the way of their dreams.

With the absence of corporal punishment in our education system, the national anti-corruption curriculum will place more emphasis on values education in young people lives.

The Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption manager corruption prevention, Kolora Naliva made this statement while addressing the national anti-corruption curriculum pilot phase workshop at Nadi Technical College in Nadi yesterday.

The curriculum, she added is developed to serve as a guiding document for teachers to act as a reference in teaching the students.

“It is crucial to understand that the ultimate objective of the curriculum is to shape a personality in children that will drive these future leaders to live free of corruption as the problem of corruption is one of the biggest global issues,” Ms Naliva said.

She reminded primary and secondary teachers at the workshop that they have a responsibility to greatly impact the lives of students and that they should be taught positively.

“The national anti-corruption curriculum will see the integration of anti-corruption lessons into the current national education curriculum, this is in line with the focus for FICAC in investing in the education and training of young minds to have a culture of resistance towards unethical values and corruption in society,” Ms Naliva said.

The curriculum is expected to be implemented from next year.

Edited by Mohammed Zulfikar

arieta.vakasukawaqa@fijisun.com.fj

]]>http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/22/national-anti-corruption-curriculum-to-be-implemented-from-next-year/feed/0Rampur College Students Learn More About Parliament Workingshttp://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/22/rampur-college-students-learn-more-about-parliament-workings/
http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/22/rampur-college-students-learn-more-about-parliament-workings/#commentsWed, 21 Feb 2018 23:00:21 +0000http://fijisun.com.fj/?p=409484Like any other first-timer, students of Rampur College in Navua got the lifetime opportunity to embrace Parliament education through the “Parliament Bus” programme on February 19.

The students could only convey their sincere appreciation to the facilitators for bringing Parliament down to their doorstep.

Year 10 student Riya Mishra said being part of the programme had broadened her knowledge about the workings of the august house.

“It’s quite interesting, I have managed to learn a lot of new stuff like the history of Parliament and the Mace,” she said.

“This is more exposure about Parliament and I really thank the team for coming down to our school.”

Her colleagues, Ronett Trail and Priya Chand, also shared similar views .

They too were enlightened further about the roles and functions of Parliament, how Members of Parliament were elected and what happens in the House during sittings, to name a few.

The college head of social science department, Karisham Ram, said the programme was timely as students were presently learning about the proceedings of Parliament and the electoral processes, among other things.

“Following this programme, the students now actually know what happens in Parliament and we are thankful for this,” she said.

“The programme is very interesting and this will definitely help the students with their studies.”

The Consumer Council of Fiji is urging university students exploited by local landlords into paying exorbitant rents for poor quality accommodation to come forward and lodge complaints.

The council chief executive officer Premila Kumar acknowledged that students were being exploited for “a very long time” but said they could do little unless official complaints were lodged.

Ms Kumar was commenting on a Fiji Sun investigation that exposed the poor quality accommodation provided to University of the South Pacific’s Solomon Islands students in exchange for high rents.

“Students are desperate because they come from their home country and they do not wish to live very far away from university,” Ms Kumar said.

“For that reason, they have been compromising and staying in that condition which is not acceptable.”

She said recent awareness programmes have targeted students as a vulnerable group because landlords tend to intimidate and talk down to them.

As many as eight students were found squeezed into single room flats in Suva, paying $250 to $300 per person in rent per month.

Students in another house said at least 70 people were forced to sleep on bunk beds to fit into the small spaces. Many had to sleep outside because of the unbearable heat.

“Many students are sharing one room meaning (they are) sharing toilet facilities and so on. It is a question of public health,” Ms Kumar said.

Public support started flooding in on social media when the news first broke. Many former students used the space to give harrowing personal accounts.

The Fiji Competition and Consumer Competition’s (FCCC) chief executive officer, Joel Abraham, said they would investigate the grievances and come down hard on landlords once more information came through.

Citing the FCCC Act 2010, which is designed to promote fair trading and protect consumers, he said many aspects of what the landlords were doing was illegal, including the increase of rent every year.

Meanwhile, the Solomon Islands High Commissioner to Fiji John Oti referred questions about what was being done to address the issue to “relevant authorities” in Honiara.

The authorities have not replied to the query. Edited by Jyoti Pratibha

New lawyer John Jainendra Prasad, originally from Labasa, attributes his success to spiritual discipline.

The 27-year-old former President of the University of the South Pacific (USP) Law Students Association was one of 20 who were admitted to the bar yesterday in front of friends and family at the High Court in Suva.

Celebrating his achievement, Mr Prasad said being an active youth member of Holy Hand, a Christian church, with strong spiritual teachings, kept him firmly grounded throughout his studies.

“Spiritual discipline taught me to remain humble, to work hard, to be fair and to prioritise things. A lot of times people get distracted when they move to the big city and when I came to Suva in 2015, I made sure that I chose friends that would positively influence me and did away with those that had a negative influence on me,” he said.

The son of a casual labourer and a housemaid, Mr Prasad said his inspiration has always been his mother, Anjanline Kumari.

“I promised my mother that she does not have to work anymore as a house maid once I start working. My mother has always been my inspiration and I am what I am today because of her.”

After secondary school Mr Prasad began his legal studies in 2010, but dropped out of school after one year because of financial constraints.

“I was not able to complete my studies then because at the time Government was not sponsoring law students, so I worked for four years and I managed to save enough money to pay part of my studies when I resumed in 2015,” he said.

His dream to give back to the community led Mr Prasad to take up work as a volunteer Legal Officer with the Legal Aid Commission.

His aim is to serve and give back to the country.

“I chose law because I saw there were injustices and people were struggling.

“There were a lot of broken families in the community that I came from and children suffered because of that.

“I want to make a difference in whatever little way I can.”

Mr Prasad is the first lawyer in his family and is the middle child of three siblings.

He also shared that after moving from Labasa to Suva to resume his studies he had to juggle three jobs to pay his way through law school.

]]>http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/22/spiritual-discipline-key-to-success-says-new-lawyer/feed/0Two plead not guilty to aggravated burglary and thefthttp://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/21/two-plead-not-guilty-to-aggravated-burglary-and-theft-2/
http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/21/two-plead-not-guilty-to-aggravated-burglary-and-theft-2/#commentsWed, 21 Feb 2018 03:16:12 +0000http://fijisun.com.fj/?p=409477Two men charged with ag­gravated burglary and theft pleaded not guilty in the High Court in Suva yesterday.

On the first count Navitalai Ry­land and Josua Vulimainadave with another unknown person al­legedly entered as trespassers into the property of Suman Lata on No­vember 8, 2017 with the intention to commit theft at her property.

On the second count of theft, they are alleged to have dishonestly ap­propriated a Panasonic television valued at $3000, a deck valued at $700, a black radio valued at $400, jewellery valued at $12000, a Pana­sonic microwave valued at $200, $2100 cash, a pair of Nike canvas valued at $200, assorted sarees val­ued at $3000, a gold Casio watch valued at $300, a black Nokia phone valued at $300, food valued at $200, four BH20 cigarette packets valued at $50, a torch valued at $30 and an iPhone 4S valued at $1500.

The total value of the stolen items are $23,980.

State Prosecutor Sujata Lodhia told Judge Justice Riyaz Hamza that they would be relying on both the accused men’s caution inter­view statements which had admis­sions about the alleged offence.

Vulimainadave’s lawyer Talei Kean sought 21 days to file her cli­ent’s ground to challenge his con­fessions in his Police interview.

First accused Ryland, who had waived his right to counsel at an earlier proceeding, said that they were both assaulted while in Police custody and there was a medical re­port to prove the same.

He said they were medically exam­ined long before the case was trans­ferred to the High Court.

The said medical reports were pro­duced in court yesterday and copies were made available to the defence. Justice Hamza then advised Ryland to file a formal application and seek Legal Aid assistance so that it would be easier to file his challeng­ing in court.

Ryland agreed accordingly and the case was adjourned to March 13, 2018.

The second accused’s bail was extended and Ryland was further remanded pending his bail hearing on March 7, 2018.

Ms Lodhia requested for time to file a response to Ryland’s bail ap­plication. She indicated that the State would be objecting because the accused had previous convic­tions for similar offences and had other cases where a bench warrant was issued against him.

Ryland’s production order was ex­tended.

Edited by Jonathan Bryce

]]>http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/21/two-plead-not-guilty-to-aggravated-burglary-and-theft-2/feed/0Two plead not guilty to aggravated burglary and thefthttp://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/21/two-plead-not-guilty-to-aggravated-burglary-and-theft/
http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/21/two-plead-not-guilty-to-aggravated-burglary-and-theft/#commentsWed, 21 Feb 2018 03:13:45 +0000http://fijisun.com.fj/?p=409475Two men charged with ag­gravated burglary and theft pleaded not guilty in the High Court in Suva yesterday.

On the first count Navitalai Ry­land and Josua Vulimainadave with another unknown person al­legedly entered as trespassers into the property of Suman Lata on No­vember 8, 2017 with the intention to commit theft at her property.

On the second count of theft, they are alleged to have dishonestly ap­propriated a Panasonic television valued at $3000, a deck valued at $700, a black radio valued at $400, jewellery valued at $12000, a Pana­sonic microwave valued at $200, $2100 cash, a pair of Nike canvas valued at $200, assorted sarees val­ued at $3000, a gold Casio watch valued at $300, a black Nokia phone valued at $300, food valued at $200, four BH20 cigarette packets valued at $50, a torch valued at $30 and an iPhone 4S valued at $1500.

The total value of the stolen items are $23,980.

State Prosecutor Sujata Lodhia told Judge Justice Riyaz Hamza that they would be relying on both the accused men’s caution inter­view statements which had admis­sions about the alleged offence.

Vulimainadave’s lawyer Talei Kean sought 21 days to file her cli­ent’s ground to challenge his con­fessions in his Police interview.

First accused Ryland, who had waived his right to counsel at an earlier proceeding, said that they were both assaulted while in Police custody and there was a medical re­port to prove the same.

He said they were medically exam­ined long before the case was trans­ferred to the High Court.

The said medical reports were pro­duced in court yesterday and copies were made available to the defence. Justice Hamza then advised Ryland to file a formal application and seek Legal Aid assistance so that it would be easier to file his challeng­ing in court.

Ryland agreed accordingly and the case was adjourned to March 13, 2018.

The second accused’s bail was extended and Ryland was further remanded pending his bail hearing on March 7, 2018.

Ms Lodhia requested for time to file a response to Ryland’s bail ap­plication. She indicated that the State would be objecting because the accused had previous convic­tions for similar offences and had other cases where a bench warrant was issued against him.

The accused is a 21 year old school gardener. He appeared before Mag­istrate Seinileba Levaci at the La­basa Magistrates Court yesterday.

He was initially released on bail, but failed to appear in court on Feb­ruary 5. During the mitigation he informed the court that he looks af­ter his aunt and grandmother and that they depended on his wages. He asked the court to forgive him and promised not to offend again.

A passenger on any Public Service Vehicle (PSV) must not use obscene or offensive language or conduct himself or herself in a riotous or disorderly manner. This was the statement by Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) manager corporate governance, Sakeasi Tawaketini.

This was LTA’s response to a video that was sent to the Fiji Sun showing students behaving poorly in a public transport.

The video showed students of prominent school on board a prominent bus returning from a sports event in Suva.

The students were deliberately swaying (rocking) the bus they were travelling on.

LTA’s manager corporate governance, Sakeasi Tawaketini, said when a passenger or student boards any public transport they must not annoy or cause nuisance to other persons by using or operating noisy instruments.

He said anyone using public transport must not make excessive noise by singing, shouting or otherwise doing such things he or she commits an offence under the Land Transport (Public Service Vehicle) Regulations 2000.

He advised that it was the responsibility of the PSV drivers, while driving, to ensure in the best of his or her ability take the necessary steps to comply with the regulations relating to the conduct of passengers.

He said when a vehicle was in motion a passenger must not distract the attention of the driver or any other passenger.

“The LTA enforcement team
will continue to monitor such types of offences where Traffic Infringement Notice can be issued,” he
said.

Meanwhile, the LTA will now investigate a matter involving another video showing a man riding inside the boot of a taxi on Sunday afternoon.

The video showed a taxi driver carrying a passenger in the boot of his taxi along Grantham Road in Suva.

Mr Tawaketini said this could have been allowed by the taxi driver but the LTA would not condone such behaviour by taxi drivers.

“LTA is seriously looking into the said matter with urgency and the matter is now under investigation by the enforcement team and soon charges will be laid accordingly,” he said. Edited by Naisa Koroi

]]>http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/21/authority-to-probe-videos-of-bus-taxi-boot-incidents/feed/0Farmer pleads guilty to assaulthttp://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/21/farmer-pleads-guilty-to-assault/
http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/21/farmer-pleads-guilty-to-assault/#commentsWed, 21 Feb 2018 02:50:45 +0000http://fijisun.com.fj/?p=409461A 27-year-old man who allegedly assaulted a 25-year-old man of Siberia in Labasa last year appeared yesterday in the Labasa Magistrates Court.

Ilaitia Verevanua, who is charged with assault causing actual body harm, has pleaded guilty to the charge. He appeared before Magistrate Seinileba Levaci.

The court learned that Verevanua allegedly punched the complainant twice on the head. During mitigation Verevanua said he was married, a first offender, and a farmer. He asked the court for forgiveness and sought a lenient sentence. Magistrate Levaci said it was a reconcilable matter and adjourned the case to April 25, 2018.

Edited by Mohammed Zulfikar

]]>http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/21/farmer-pleads-guilty-to-assault/feed/0Man on theft chargehttp://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/21/man-on-theft-charge/
http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/21/man-on-theft-charge/#commentsWed, 21 Feb 2018 02:47:09 +0000http://fijisun.com.fj/?p=409459A Labasa man has sought the assistance of the Legal Aid Commission after he was charged with theft. Deo Chand appeared before Magistrate Seinileba Levaci at the Labasa Magistrates Court yesterday. The prosecutor told the court that the complainant and the accused were living in the same area and there was a high risk of Chand interfering with the witness. Chand was denied bail.

He was remanded until his next hearing on March 6, 2018.

Edited by Mohammed Zulfikar

]]>http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/21/man-on-theft-charge/feed/0Sentencing Today on Manslaughter Chargehttp://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/21/sentencing-today-on-manslaughter-charge/
http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/21/sentencing-today-on-manslaughter-charge/#commentsWed, 21 Feb 2018 02:44:05 +0000http://fijisun.com.fj/?p=409450Samson Lal will be sentenced today in the High Court in Suva after he was convicted yesterday for one count of man­slaughter.

Judge Justice Vincent Perera concurred with the unanimous not guilty verdict of the assessors for murder however he found Lal guilty on a lesser count of man­slaughter.

The 46-year-old accused allegedly stabbed Jimmy Dass at his moth­er-in-law’s home in Samabula after a night of drinking. The alleged incident happened on May 28, 2016.

While delivering his judgment, Justice Perera found that the evi­dence of the first three prosecu­tion witnesses were not reliable.

He said Lal did not dispute being with the victim at his mother-in-law’s home at the material time.

However, he stated in evidence that the victim, who was the first to leave the house that night, was not injured when he left.

Justice Perera said there were two injuries found on the victim’s body which was on his chest and on his groin area.

He went on to reject Lal’s claim that the answers in his caution interview were fabricated adding that he was satisfied that the an­swers given were true.

Justice Perera was of the view that Lal’s claims that the act was of self-defence was not justified as the accused had taken the knife and pointed it at the victim who was more drunk than him at the material time.

He said given the circumstances it was clear that Lal knew what he was doing.

]]>http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/21/sentencing-today-on-manslaughter-charge/feed/0Justice Hamza warns alleged wife beaterhttp://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/21/justice-hamza-warns-alleged-wife-beater/
http://fijisun.com.fj/2018/02/21/justice-hamza-warns-alleged-wife-beater/#commentsWed, 21 Feb 2018 01:00:30 +0000http://fijisun.com.fj/?p=409403A Tacirua man, charged with an act with intent to cause grievous harm, was warned in the High Court in Suva yester­day not to lay a hand on his wife or risk having his bail revoked.

Ledua Masi Tiko was produced be­fore Judge Justice Riyaz Hamza for first call after his case was trans­ferred from the Nasinu Magistrates Court.

He appeared on bail and it was re­vealed in court that he had violated his bail condition when he relocat­ed with his wife and three children from his parent’s house in Tacirua East to Nadera.

Justice Hamza questioned the ac­cused why he relocated when his bail condition, which was set by the Magistrates Court, stated that he must reside in Tacirua East until completion of the case.

The accused said that he was not aware. It was revealed that on No­vember 11, 2017, the accused alleg­edly hit his wife on the head with a wooden chair.

Her medical report indicated that dry blood was found in her nose and there was tenderness in her spine.

Justice Hamza questioned the ac­cused if he was staying with his wife to which he said he was add­ing that there was no Domestic Vio­lence Restraining Order (DVRO) imposed.

Legal Aid lawyer Talei Kean said a DVRO had been imposed, but it was not clear to what extent as there were no non-contact orders given.

State lawyer Sujata Lodhia said his wife was a State witness who said she had reconciled with the ac­cused and wished to withdraw the case.

Ms Lodhia said since it was a do­mestic matter, they had no instruc­tions to terminate the matter.

She requested the court to impose a non-contact order adding that if the case went to trial, then there was a likelihood that the accused’s wife would choose not to testify against her husband.

Justice Hamza advised the ac­cused not to reoffend and not to cause any more harm to his wife.

The case has been adjourned to March 13, 2018, for mention.

Tiko’s bail was extended and he was advised to file an application for bail variation if he wanted to change his bail conditions.